• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

Windhorst Radio Show & Updates

Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Maybe Blatt comes across a bit arrogant, hey, he'd hardly be the first coach guilty of that. But one thing I'll say he doesn't get enough credit for, is that he definitely doesn't coach arrogantly.

Meaning, he has swallowed his pride a lot, and acknowledge a lot of his European ways, and philosophies just weren't going to work here. To me, that's a HUGE step.

This guy is willing and capable of changing, adapting, and not being stubborn stuck on his ways. Which could not be said the same way with Mike Brown.

Blatt's ability to evolve and change has been to me his best trait thus far. He doesn't always make the right decisions, he doesn't always do the right thing. But he's not so stubborn to the point where he'll continue to bang his head against a brick wall, thinking that is still the solution to a problem.

Good coaches adapt. Blatt has shown the ability to adapt. He's willing to acknowledge mistakes, something Mike Brown almost was never willing to do, and that drove me nuts.

Blatt seems to be able to adapt to his team's strengths and weaknesses, which may be his best trait as a Head Coach. It seems simple enough, but the streets of the NBA are littered w/ guys who couldn't, like Mike Brown for example.
 
Yeah seriously.. Saying he's unprepared or at a major disadvantage is speaking from ignorance..

We'll have to see during the playoffs and based on that we'll know for the later rounds.

The Cavs will kill the Celtics but again Blatt will get zero credit. I think honestly it may take years for people to appreciate what Blatt does, assuming he isn't thrown under the bus before then. I'm not saying I definitively know that Blatt is an amazing NBA coach, but I think he has all the attributes he needs to thrive at the NBA level. The bar is set so high though, that if he doesnt at least get the Cavs to the finals, he will be viewed as a big reason why we failed.
 
The Cavs will kill the Celtics but again Blatt will get zero credit.

Blatt can't start getting credit until he starts taking on teams with a similar talent level. He's supposed to kill the Celtics because he's got all of the ammo in this gun fight. If this series goes 6 games, though, Blatt will get the blame. Might not be fair, but that's the way that it is.
 
Blatt can't start getting credit until he starts taking on teams with a similar talent level. He's supposed to kill the Celtics because he's got all of the ammo in this gun fight. If this series goes 6 games, though, Blatt will get the blame. Might not be fair, but that's the way that it is.

Blatt is in more or less a no win situation, as far as earning respect. He gets a nice salary I'm sure but the respect will take years to earn because we never got a chance to see if Blatt could take a bunch of average talent and make it better, the way Stevens has. That was what this season was supposed to be for Blatt, but LeBron changed all that. I have a lot of faith in him and I don't think the Cavs turning things around was done without him or in spite of him. I think he deserves a lot of credit for how he's handled JR Smith and Mozgov, especially. JR could have easily checked out if he got off on the wrong foot with a different coach, and Mozgov is clearly playing the best basketball of his life.
 
"Hot garbage" isn't especially accurate. At least not for several of the years here. LBJ had a great supporting cast in terms of perfectly complimenting his strengths (teammates that provided great defense, rebounding, 3-point shooting). Those teams had multiple 60-win seasons - something that doesn't just happen solely because of 1 guy - and something that Bosh/Wade did not help LBJ do in Miami. But it was a shitty supporting cast as far as truly helping him win it all since it lacked all-star/superstar sidekicks to help when it mattered most in the playoffs.

I'm sorry but that cast was literally hot garbage. You admitted it yourself in the final sentence. No one can objectively sit there and list the players on that roster and the head coach and say it was anything but hot garbage. There is no way around it. There is a reason the team was awful once Lebron left.

Mo Williams was the second option....enough said. Even in the regular season success it was all Lebron. The 60 win season did happen from one guy. Lebron is that good. It sure as heck didn't happen from Potato head as coach, Mo Williams, 38 year old injured Shaq, Jamison, a pre-prime Andy, the corpse of big Z, Delonte West etc.

The team provided very little defense in the playoffs in addition to very little offensive help. The coach was also a moron. The cavs were poorly run during Lebron's first stint. I don't see why it is so hard for many Cavs fans to admit it. Thankfully the team is a lot better run now in his second stint.
 
The problem with the Lebron quit theory is that in game 6 he tried really hard. Why would he quit in game 5 all of the sudden to try really hard in game 6? I guess it's possible, but even if that's the case that was just 1 game out of 6. Ultimately Lebron averaged something like 27-8-7 in the series including a high effort game 6 while shutting down a still very good Paul Pierce all series long while also being doubled and tripled while KG destroyed the Cavs big men and Rondo murdered Mo Williams.
 
I like Blatt and I believe in him. I think he will prove to be a good coach, but it will have to be proven in the playoffs. The regular season means nothing.
 
The problem with the Lebron quit theory is that in game 6 he tried really hard. Why would he quit in game 5 all of the sudden to try really hard in game 6? I guess it's possible, but even if that's the case that was just 1 game out of 6. Ultimately Lebron averaged something like 27-8-7 in the series including a high effort game 6 while shutting down a still very good Paul Pierce all series long while also being doubled and tripled while KG destroyed the Cavs big men and Rondo murdered Mo Williams.

I think you're taking the term, and thinking he literally tried to lose the game. I never accused him of that. I remember the game, Boston came out swinging, and swinging hard. LeBron looked mentally spent, and just packed it in, accepted the fact he can't win against them, and just packed it in.

Boston opposed their will, and LeBron looked mentally weaken, and surrendered to their will. It was shocking to see, because I had never seen him act that way at all.

I saw a little less resistance in game 6, but his demeanor in majority of that game was still pretty bad too.

He clearly looked like someone that had one foot out the door.
 
Last edited:
Blatt can't start getting credit until he starts taking on teams with a similar talent level. He's supposed to kill the Celtics because he's got all of the ammo in this gun fight. If this series goes 6 games, though, Blatt will get the blame. Might not be fair, but that's the way that it is.

Just as an aside, the 2008 Celtics were clearly more talented than the Hawks, but it took 7 games (all wins at home) to close them out. I would hardly blame Doc for not closing it out sooner.

Regardless of execution, I need to see the Cavs get their feet wet. I'd blame Blatt in the first round only if he loses the series.
 
We are going to learn a lot about Blatt these playoffs, that's for sure. I think he's done a pretty good job, all things considered this regular season. It didn't all go smooth, he started off really rough. But he didn't panic, and was able to make corrections, win the team over, and hell, the most difficult part, even win LeBron over.

The last part was the hardest, and he did that. Even anyone not sold on the guy yet has to be impressed with that.

But now comes the hardest test of all, and we will see how it goes for him. I think he'll make mistakes, but it's how he adjusts to these mistakes is what will be interesting to see.

This is where coaching in the NBA really comes into effect, especially when you go against teams that are pretty evenly matched at a talent stand point. How he does against Thibs, Budenholzer, Kerr, Pop, etc, is where we're going to learn the most about David Blatt and where he is as an NBA coach.
 
Windhorst is reporting on Skype from his hotel room. I like to imagine he's waiting for Lebron to arrive like Julia Roberts waited for Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.
563c9b34a8f804c6a4d63de955506f18.jpg
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-15: "Cavs Survive and Advance"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:15: Cavs Survive and Advance
Top